Hundreds rally to urge Congress to help immigrants

Several hundred people rallied in Springfield on Sunday afternoon to urge Congress to pass legislation that would prevent young undocumented immigrants from being deported.

Deportation is a frightening possibility for approximately 800,000 people after President Donald Trump's administration ordered an end to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, a President Barack Obama-era program that has protected these youths.

Rally organizers also announced the start of a campaign to pass a Springfield City Council resolution to make the capital city a welcoming place for immigrants.

One of the rally's featured speakers was a 19-year-old Beardstown resident who was brought to the United States when she was 2 years old and is directly affected by administration's DACA ruling.

“I am American. I am just as American as anyone here,” said Lisset, who asked that her last name not be used because of concerns that it may draw attention from government officials. “I have pledged allegiance to the flag every day from kindergarten through 12th grade, and when the national anthem plays I sing it loud and proud. This is my home.”

Lisset is a student at Illinois College in Jacksonville, was a high school honor student, and has worked and paid taxes, she said.

“I have everything I could ever imagine here, and I don't see a future for myself outside of the United States,” Lisset said.

Several of Lisset's fellow Illinois College students, members of the campus' Spanish student union, were there to support her on Sunday.

“It's affecting our students, it's affecting our friends, and it's very important for us to stand up for each other,” said Karina Donayre. “We are here to be proud of our culture and to welcome others.”

Those at the rally were told to contact members of Congress and urge them to pass the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors, or DREAM Act. The proposed legislation would grant conditional residency for qualifying alien minors in the United States. The residency could become permanent after further qualifications were met. The DREAM Act was sponsored by Sens. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, and Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, but has so far failed to pass.

Since the legislation was first proposed in 2001, those it would help have been referred to as Dreamers.

“If we kick Dreamers out, we are kicking out a part of ourselves,” said Veronica Espina of Springfield, a University of Illinois Springfield instructor and a member of Illinois Action and Indivisible Springfield, the rally organizers.

“There are 42,000 of these kids and young adults in Illinois who were brought here as young children. They contribute to our economy, make our society better, and make our communities likable places to live,” Espina said. “They belong here, they are Americans in every possible way except in paper. We need to be concerned when our neighbors are being told that they don't belong here any more.”

Espina brought her child with her when she immigrated to the United States as a student. Although she and her daughter had the required paperwork, it frightens her to think what might have happened if the situation was different.

“Thinking about that 5-year-old that held my hand and came here, thinking that they could take that dream away from her is so painful,” Espina said. “It's heartbreaking, and I don't want that for any parent.”

Dominican Sister Elise Ramirez told the crowd about her grandparents who were brought as children to America, and said her grandfather was not documented until after he fought for the U.S. Army in World War I.

“Let's hear it for all the immigrants who serve our country!” Ramirez said to loud applause. “That's what our country is, it's who we are. We want the United States to stay welcoming.”

Signs carried by rally attendees ranged from “We all belong here” to “Keep the kids, deport the racists.” There was even a whimsical sandwich board adorning one canine participant: “Dogs for DACA – I'll 'bight' to protect Dreamers.”

Organizers said the next step is to convince the Springfield City Council to join Chicago as an official welcoming city. This status would include the reaffirmation or consideration of policies that welcome immigrants and push back against deportations and other anti-immigrant policies.

The elimination of DACA could mean that some of the 800,000 young adults brought to the United States illegally as children may be deported as early as March 2018. However, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders recently said that President Donald Trump would support legislation to “fix” the DACA program if Congress passed it as part of a broader immigration overhaul plan.

When U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions last week announced the "wind down" of DACA, the Springfield area's two Republican members of the U.S. House said they hoped to find a solution to the issue that involves Congress, instead of an order issued by the president, which is how Obama implemented the program in 2012.

"I believe that the House and Senate, along with this administration, can work together on a solution to DACA that protects the young individuals who entered this country while also respecting the rule of law and the legislative process,” Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Peoria, said in a statement last week.

"President Trump has provided a timeline for Congress to address this issue and I hope together we can find a permanent, bipartisan solution that balances compassion and lawfulness,” Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, said in a statement.

-- Contact David Blanchette through the metro desk at 788-1401.

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